DISTRIBUTION
A:
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Published: 1 June 2009
Air & Space Power Journal - Summer 2009
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Prelaunch Notes |
Capt Lori Katowich, USAF, Deputy Chief, Professional Journals
Many people inquire about our process for determining the publication potential of articles submitted to Air and Space Power Journal (ASPJ). The following offers a rough outline of that process. After we receive an article, members of the editorial board meet to review it and discuss its merits. Submissions significantly over our 5,000-word limit are returned to the author without specific action. If the topic seems to be of interest to our readers, however, we may suggest revisions for bringing the article within that limit.
Keeping in mind our editorial focus on the operational level of war, including issues related to strategy and policy, we review articles for content, scholarliness, relevance to Air Force concerns, support, currency, value to force development, and quality. Moreover, our articles should support the multilevel thinking that characterizes today’s professional dialogue. Submissions of a purely historic nature generally fall outside our focus area. Our feedback to authors ranges from specific technical aspects (spelling, grammar, word choice, etc.) to recommendations on strengthening weak areas or correcting illogical organization. However, we often reject poorly written articles, regardless of topic, without revising them. Similarly, we may also reject articles that lack the necessary documentation.
Authors should submit high-resolution photographs and graphics suitable for printing in black and white as separate files rather than importing them into the text file; furthermore, they should properly credit all images. Although photos from Air Force or other government sources do not require a credit line, authors should nevertheless include one so we can verify that it was not overlooked.
It takes commitment on the part of both the authors and editors to significantly revise submissions. Academic papers written for various education classes, whether military or civilian, may be of interest to ASPJ but often do not meet our needs in terms of either article length or formatting. For that reason, we advise authors to review AU-1, Air University Style and Author Guide (available online at http://aupress.au.af.mil/resources/style/austyle_guide.pdf or in hard copy from Air University Press), prior to submitting. Although based on the Chicago Manual of Style, AU-1 adds terms and examples peculiar to the military environment. The editorial board will provide advice regarding our formatting needs, but the responsibility for meeting those requirements remains with the author.
Referees (subject-matter experts) vet an accepted submission through a peer-review process, validating it in terms of concepts and evaluating the soundness of the supporting argument; they do not judge the article on the basis of their personal feelings about its content. Furthermore, neither referee nor author knows the other’s identity. After we receive the referees’ comments, we forward them to the author so that he or she can address any concerns or simply withdraw the submission.
We then submit the revised article to the Public Affairs Office for a security and policy (S&P) review, which examines it for sensitive content that may pose a security risk. After we receive a clearance, we schedule the article for publication, based on focus area, timeliness, and available space.
Not specifically assigned to ASPJ, the referees and S&P reviewers complete their work on an “as available” basis, which requires extra processing time. Therefore, although we provide “latest submission” dates for upcoming issues, we highly encourage authors to submit articles as early as possible.
We hope that this overview has increased your understanding of ASPJ’s publication procedures. We always want our authors to look good in print. For more detailed information, please see the “Submissions” page of our Web site at http://www.airpower.au.af.mil.
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University
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